Today’s REI Classroom Lesson

Holly McKhann explains that when you have a realtor selling one of your properties, there’s benefits for you to take advantage of as a real estate investor. Not only are they getting the property on MLS and marketing it for you, they’re able to provide you weekly reports and feedback from showings.

REI Classroom Summary

Holly McKhann elaborates on how to receive feedback from showings to determine if you need to change anything about the property (price, upgrades, etc.).

Listen to this REI Classroom Lesson

Real Estate Investing Classroom Show Transcripts:

Mike: Welcome back to the flipnerd.com REI Classroom, where experts from across the real estate investing industry teach you quick lessons to take your business to the next level. And now, let’s meet today’s expert host.

Holly: Hey there, Holly McKhann, your REI Classroom host of the day. Today, I’m going to talk about when you’re working with a realtor and your home is on the market, getting weekly reports from them.

Holly: So this is something that I have requested from the agents that are listing my homes for sale and I ask a few things of them. I ask them to send me, number one, a weekly email to show me the showings. In our local area in southern California, this is really easy for them because they can generate it off their realtor key; it’s called a Supra key, and it’s a report. They can forward that to me and it shows Sally Jo from Century 21 showed the property on Tuesday at 3:00 P.M. And it’s really helpful to see the number of showings. If you’re getting no showings, your house is probably overpriced because price does solve all problems, I have learned. So number one, you want to get the showings of the week.

Number two, I ask them to give me feedback. I request my realtor to request feedback from all the agents that have shown the house. Sometimes they do this through an email survey, or they can call them, and I love to know feedback. And I ask my agents to give me complete honestly, and then I need to be open to receive it. I say, “Don’t worry about hurting my feelings. This isn’t my personal home, this is a business. This is a business decision. If I need to change things to the home, let me know.” And I want to hear it. If they’re saying, “I don’t like,” whatever it is . . . I’ve heard different things, like one I heard recently was they were concerned that there was no patio cover on the back of the house that took direct sun.

So I need to hear that, and know that, and then consider making that change. If there’s a big glaring thing that the realtor didn’t know about, or I didn’t know about, we need to fix that, change that to get the house to sell more quickly. I’m always looking for opportunities for improvements, and then I accept the criticism or suggested improvements willingly and open. I don’t fight them. I don’t go, “Well, they’re wrong, and they shouldn’t this, and they shouldn’t say that.” You’ve got to be open and hear it because that’s what’s going to help you sell your house sooner.

Third, I want that realtor to either send me via email or set me up on an auto email through the MLS the activity in the neighborhood that I feel is my comps. That includes any homes that have gone pending, any homes that have sold. And if they’ve got a relationship with that realtor on a pending sale, maybe they can give them a call and say, “Hey, what are you in contract for?” Sometimes they’ll tell you, sometimes they won’t. And you can find out if you’re priced right, or if you’re going to be that next logical sale because your competition is getting bought up. That’s really interesting to know, and also new listings. It’s really important to stay on top of your competition and know what’s going on. And a realtor is really helpful for you, a local realtor, often, who can help you do that and stay on top of it.

Then, last of all, a great reason to be working with a realtor is when they’ve got their finger on the pulse of the market, and they’re checking things out, they can be having an eye out for future deals for you. And the better relationship you have with that realtor, and the easier you are to work with, and the more open and honest that you guys are with each other, you’re going to have more opportunities to work with them, have them bring you other deals.

It’s a win-win if you’re giving them the relist. They want to find more deals so they can have more listings, and make more money and help you make more money. I’ve got two different agents that I’ve done over 10 deals with and it’s a great relationship. They love me, I love them. They know, don’t sugar coat anything, just tell me like it is, and let’s get the houses sold.

That’s my little tips about working with a realtor and getting weekly reports, which will help you get your homes sold more quickly, and hopefully, for a higher price. If you’d like to hear more on this topic of investing strategies, check out my podcast. It’s on iTunes and other podcast platforms. It’s called “Secrets to Real Estate Investing by House Flip Masters.” This is Holly McKhann and I’ll see you next time.

Mike: HomeVestors, the “We Buy Ugly Houses” folks, is a franchised system of hundreds of real estate investors that have purchased over 65,000 houses. If you’d like to learn more about the most powerful real estate investing system in existence, whether you’re a pro looking to take your business to the next level or whether you have no experience at all, but a burning passion to be successful in real estate investing, please visit flipnerd.com/ugly to learn more.

Please note, the views and opinions as expressed by the individuals in this program do not necessarily reflect those of flipnerd.com or any of its partners, advertisers or affiliates. Please consult professionals before making any investment or tax decisions, as real estate investing can be risky.

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Holly McKhann is a full-time real estate investor and works with her husband Scott, having done over 200 fix and flips together in Southern California over the past five years. Holly began her career as a CPA, working for Ernst & Young. She also earned an MBA in finance. Scott is a registered civil engineer with a decade of experience at public home builders. Their blend of expertise and experience has attracted multiple investors, allowing them to expand their business.
They used to buy homes exclusively at trustee sales, but now Holly focuses on relationships with realtors to find the flip deals that work. They own 12 rental units, mostly single family homes, all in Southern California. She raised over $3 million through trust deed investments. Holly loves working from home and enjoying her freedom as an entrepreneur. Holly has been married 23 years and has four children ages 13, 15, 18, and 21 and lives in Dana Point, CA.